Weeks after mechanics working for Tesla in Sweden walked off the job in late October, members of other unions across the country and elsewhere in Scandinavia joined the strike in sympathy by refusing to provide services to Tesla to make pressure on the car manufacturer to sign a collective agreement with its Swedish workers.
The strike in Sweden by mechanics represented by the IF Metall union was the first industrial action against Tesla, the American electric vehicle manufacturer founded 20 years ago and led by Elon Musk. In the weeks that followed, the strike spread beyond Sweden after Danish dockworkers said they would stop unloading Tesla vehicles at the country’s ports.
The last
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A regional pension fund, PensionDanmark sold its shares in Tesla, citing the company’s “very categorical refusal to enter into collective agreements in any country.”
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The transport workers’ union in Finland has voted to boycott all Tesla vehicles and components destined for Sweden from December 20.
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A Swedish court has rejected Tesla’s attempt to end the labor blockade on the delivery of its mail, including license plates, pending a final decision.
How it started
Tesla does not make cars in Sweden and the country is a relatively small market for the automaker. Not all mechanics from its seven service centers are participating in the strike. But the industrial action has benefited from growing support from other unions, including dockers, electricians and postal workers, and now from an institutional investor.
Unions say Tesla is continuing the Swedish tradition of collective agreements. Around 90 percent of Swedish workers are covered by these agreements, which apply to non-union employees and set working conditions across all sectors. They have a long history in the Nordic countries and are widely considered essential for maintaining social cohesion and high standards of living.
The strikers and the unions championing their cause are “fighting an incredibly important battle right now,” Jan Villadsen, president of the 3F Transport union representing Danish dockworkers, said in a statement. “Even if you are one of the richest people in the world, you can’t make your own rules,” he said, referring to Mr. Musk.
But Tesla’s Model Y is a hugely popular sport utility vehicle in Sweden, topping the list of electric cars sold this year. Some industry officials in Sweden worry that a prolonged union battle could hurt the business of repair shops forced to stop servicing Tesla vehicles.
What is at stake for the union?
IF Metall wants Tesla to begin negotiations on the adoption of a collective agreement. The agreement would set the basis for wages and benefits for all, even though only about 70 of Tesla’s 120 mechanics in Sweden are members of the union.
The union estimates that most of its members at Tesla are staying at home, but concedes that “some are unfortunately at work despite the strike”.
At least 10 other unions have joined the movement by refusing to clean Tesla’s facilities, service its battery chargers or paint and repair its vehicles. In total, around 150 members of IF Metall and other unions are involved in one way or another in the strike, the union said.
Union leaders see the blockade against Tesla as a way to defend the Swedish model, a way of life that has defined the country’s economy for decades. At the heart of this strategy is cooperation between employers and employees to ensure that both parties benefit equally from the company’s profits.
But the labor movement is not as strong in emerging green industries, and union leaders fear that if these jobs remain nonunion, they will enjoy lower wages and benefits.
How did Tesla react?
Tesla, which began selling cars in Sweden in 2013, did not respond to repeated requests for comment. But Mr. Musk has more than once made clear what he thinks of the labor movement, most recently during the DealBook summit At New York.
“I don’t agree with the idea of unions,” Mr. Musk said, adding that they create “a lords and peasants situation” in the workforce. “I think unions naturally try to create negative within a company,” he said.
Although it has not signed a collective agreement, Tesla insists that it respects Swedish labor laws, pays its employees well and offers them stock options. None of its service centers were forced to close due to the strike.
When postal workers stopped delivering mail, including license plates, to Tesla, the company filed lawsuits against the government agency that produces the plates and PostNord, the postal company used by the government to deliver them . . You’re here demanded that the postal company deliver or return the plates it had.
So far, Tesla has not convinced the courts. In late November, a judge ruled that the agency must make the plates available to Tesla, but another court later overturned that decision. In the other case, a judge ruled that PostNord did not need to issue license plates held by postal service employees. Both cases await a final decision.
How are workers from other countries getting involved?
Solidarity between unions in the Nordic countries is strong and IF Metall is in talks with neighboring union groups to prevent the carmaker from escaping the blockade imposed by Swedish dockworkers by transporting cars across the border from neighboring countries.
The response reflects how deeply rooted the labor movement is in the region: unions representing transport workers in Denmark, Finland and Norway have all agreed to stop unloading Sweden-bound Tesla vehicles arriving in the ports of their country.
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In Denmark, support has extended beyond unions to institutional investors. PensionDanmark, a pension fund managing around 317 billion Danish crowns ($46 billion), said Tesla’s outright rejection of collective agreements led it to sell its stake, worth around $69 million.
Do the Swedes support the strike?
Support was divided. Some see the strike as an important statement about their way of life, and others believe the union has gone too far and is promoting an unwinnable, and for some unfair, fight.
The Model Y ranked as the best-selling electric vehicle in Sweden in November, reflecting continued demand despite the strike.
An official of an association that represents local auto repair shops also raised concerns that some of its members are being hit hard by sympathy strikes, which are preventing them from carrying out repairs.
“We see that this is an unfortunate situation which, in the event of a prolonged conflict, risks threatening Swedish jobs,” said Hanna Alsen, head of negotiations at the Automobile Industry Employers’ Association.
How long can the strike last?
Strikes are rare in Sweden. Often, the threat of a walkout is enough for negotiations to begin. IF Metall said it had been trying to bring Tesla to the negotiating table for years.
The union said it was prepared to wage a prolonged fight, but would end the action if Tesla agreed to discuss a collective bargaining agreement.
At the same time, Tesla remains the only major American automaker without union representation. The company has remained resistant to unions even in European countries with strong union organizing traditions, including Germany, where Tesla opened a factory in 2022.
Esben Pedersen, who helped bring Tesla to Europe, said the automaker may have found itself in a difficult situation in Sweden, adding that the strike was about a broader issue than just wages and benefits social.
“It is a culture clash between two distinct systems: the Scandinavian labor market model, which emphasizes collective bargaining, and the Silicon Valley philosophy of pivotal agility, associated to Elon’s emphasis on vertical integration,” he said. “Even if it offers compensation above requirements, the strike will likely continue until Tesla agrees to a collective bargaining agreement.”
